Cessna 150 accident near Downingtown, Pennsylvania, April 2, 1988
On April 2, 1988 at about 7:42 pm local time, a Cessna 150, registered N60057, was substantially damaged in an accident near Downingtown, Pennsylvania (Bob Shannon airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 2, 1988 · about 7:42 pm local time · cases in 1988
- Place
- Downingtown, Pennsylvania · Bob Shannon · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N60057 · registry record · serial 15070042
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING TAKEOFF FROM SHANNON AIRPORT, THE FLIGHT EXPERIENCED AN ENGINE POWER LOSS AND CRASHED. PILOT STATED THAT WATER WAS FOUND IN THE CARBURETOR. THE PLT SAID AFTER THE ACC THAT AFTER THE POWER LOSS HE NOTICED POWERLINES AND HOUSES IN FRONT AND MADE A SHARP LEFT TURN, THEN MUST HAVE PASSED OUT BECAUSE HE DIDN'T REMEMBER ANY THING AFTER THAT.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 587 hours in all; 492 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 456 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,430 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 5, 1987; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: N25 Downingtown PA at 8:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12, 2,653 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 10 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N60057 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N60057 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 150 7,992 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,678 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-200A 297 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Blue Heron Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania 1,836 since 1982 · 234 in the last ten years
- Pennsylvania 6,195 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N60057 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/NYC88LA118.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.